Hola

It's that time again: it's time for the random assortment of pictures with no common theme other than they're of Eric and me! I hope you enjoy these pictorial narratives of our lives :)

A few weeks ago I went to Time Out for Women. Here's a shot of Hillary Weeks, one of the performers--sorry it's not that great a picture. I tried to think of a concise way to explain what Time Out for Women is, but was having a hard time. It's a religious yet fun event for women of faith. Yup, that's the best I can do. Check out their Web site if you want to know more.

So a couple weeks ago I was feeling...big. So I had Eric take a picture of me from behind so I could see if I looked as big from that perspective. I was happy to discover that while perhaps I look a little more curvy, I don't look big :) I don't have a complex about gaining weight from being pregnant, don't worry. I was just having one of "those" days.

We've been spending a lot of time with our friends from church, Bryce and Maddy Egbert. Bryce is a med student at VCU. We all get along really well and we've enjoyed getting to know one another better. Bryce and Eric love talking about/playing computer games together and watching college football, and Maddy and I are glad to let them while we have some girl time :) We went to their house last week to carve pumpkins. Eric chose a difficult pattern, but he did a great job. I supervised!

Carving away.

Eric's mummy.

We had a ghost, mummy, Thomas the Train (for their little boy, Briton, who LOVES trains), and a spooky jack-o-lantern scarecrow something...Bryce's was really complicated. He impressed us all with his carving skills--and patience. Eric had to help him with a little emergency reconstructive surgery including a toothpick at one point.

32 weeks.

Dressed up for Eric's class party Friday. I was a pregnant angel. I guess that makes Eric the devil...

Eric did a good job with those horns. They were originally hair barrettes for women, but he shaved that off with his pocket knife and applied them using spirit gum.

We bought face paint for Eric but then he ended up not using as much as he'd planned, so I decided we should make good use of it. I started drawing on Eric's face while we watched a show when we got home from the party, and so he in turn tried his skills on mine.

We went to a luncheon that recognized scholarship recipients for Eric's college at VCU. It was mostly enjoyable--luckily we got assigned to sit by Lance and Jen. After it was over, they told people they could take the centerpieces, so Eric snagged this one. The roses smell wonderful and I've enjoyed having them on the table this week.

This was Eric's favorite shot of me with the roses ;)

Make your children work for a living

No, seriously. Kids should have chores and earn their way in their homes. I'm sure, knowing my audience (Washburn and Badger families, haha), that I'm preaching to the choir. But there you go.

If you want to know what made me think about this, click HERE. It's a fun read. I love The Pioneer Woman.

Emotional Intelligence

My emotional IQ seems to have lost a few points since I graduated and ended up working as an office assistant 15 hours a week. Not to mention my intellectual IQ, but that's another story (all my education seems to be seeping out my ears--doesn't help that I have fetus eating my brain). Anyways, I won't go into details but I had a real low point a few nights ago and my poor husband had to spend a while validating and affirming my existence so he could go to sleep...

Needless to say, it's been a roller coaster for me at times.

Today I was trying to make myself useful while Eric was in class, so I started going through one of the boxes of miscellaneous stuff in the office. In an old church journal I found a quote from a Relief Society lesson I had in one of my wards at BYU. The lesson was called "Emotional Intelligence and the Gospel," and this quote hit the spot.

"Perform your duties in spite of difficulties. Do not falter; continue to do your duty, whatever it may be, whether pleasing or displeasing; be the servants and handmaidens of God to the very utmost. In the past His blessings have been upon us just so far as we have served Him in faithfulness; they will be so in the future. There is no occasion for any man who has the manifestation of the Lord in this line to be discouraged. When our surroundings are not so agreeable as might be wished, think how much worse they might be. Be contented with our conditions. Improve them when opportunity arises, but do not worry about them." --President Lorenzo Snow

I thought I'd share. It's not a "sunshine and roses" quote, but that's not what I needed right now. I needed a firm reminder to stop worrying and move forward. And that's just what I'm going to do.

Pregnant Cindy

Third trimester? What? Really?

I haven't been that great about getting photos of myself throughout my pregnancy, but the last few weeks we've done better. Maybe because I am realizing that I'm really having a baby. Anyways, for those who want to see, here are weeks 27-29. Love you all!

27 weeks

Business professional pregnant Cindy. 28 weeks after a PRSA luncheon.

29 weeks--it's for real, people.

And, a little bonus picture for all of you who stuck around to look at my bulging belly:

Eric's been playing on a church softball team--it's a Christian league here in the area, and Eric's on the LDS team. They've had a lot of fun. This is right before he scored a run!

Two bandaids

I triumphed over my flu shot yesterday. My arm doesn't even hurt. If you knew me, you'd know that any sort of shot--especially a vaccination--freaks me out.

Today I got my test for gestational diabetes. That stuff they make you drink wasn't my favorite, but totally not as bad as some people make it seem. It did start to make me feel sick after a little while, but I think that has to do with the fact that my appointment was first thing this morning and all I'd eaten before was toast. The nurse who took my blood wasn't as smooth at it as some nurses I've had, but I survived with only minor clenching of my jaw.

Ugh. Needles. And now two bandaids on the same arm.